This study is intended to investigate the locality, fixed pattern considering timeliness and spatiality, under the view that there are differences in accomodating and manufacturing armors between the regional units in Young-Nam area from 4th to 5th ce...
This study is intended to investigate the locality, fixed pattern considering timeliness and spatiality, under the view that there are differences in accomodating and manufacturing armors between the regional units in Young-Nam area from 4th to 5th century. Specific subjects compared in this study are 'vertical armor plate's which have been reported commonly throughout this region. The study concentrated on the pedigree of shapes of 'Whokyungpan(후경판)'s as an form classification of 'Plate armour's and examined structural attributes which have been divided by shapes and manufacturing technique. These attributes are to look into timeliness by correlation and configuration and associating principal attributes allowed to set up 10 forms. Among these attributes, there are 'type of the shoulder' and 'Jindongpan(진동판)'. The former had been changed from linear to curvilineal and the latter had been changed from nothingness to salient decoration. sing these attributes as guideline, each form can be separated into phases 1~3 divided by time locations.
Distribution examined space-time side of armors found in Young-Nam area. Firstly, they are divided into Kyong-ju, Pusan, Kim-hae regions considering geography and whether they had unique forms or not and verified regional bounds with technical correlation between 'coat of mail's and 'Plate armour' among contemporary armors. As a result, during the phase 3 - when there were distinguished regional differences in manufacturing 'Plate armour's - coat of mail began to have variation 'B2' and iron helmet had change in the shape of cheek cover. When sort out regional distribution of coat of mail and iron helmet into Kyong-ju, Pusan, Kim-hae, as was in the case of Plate armour, the times when individual styles were established and technical changes of phase 3 were accommodated differentiated each other. In Kim-hae, differently from Kyong-ju and Pusan, A-type coat of mail had been manufactured constantly and adornments intensified. On the contrary, technical changes in manufacturing armor during phase 3 only has been found in Kyong-ju and Pusan. And, in Pusan, considering that those characteristics have not been found in precedented types of armors and had emerged suddenly without indication, they are rather the result of transaction than development of its own. Considering the characteristics of excavated mound, that transition was set to be with Kyong-ju region.
In the second place, beginning and background of manufacturing such ironwork armors were examined. Meanwhile, distribution of Plate armours have been understood bisected into Kyong-ju and the lower reaches of Nak-dong river. However, considering inter-regional superiority and absence of prototype, constant change of types , historical circumstances, it is unlikely to be able to fix a specific regional unit as a center with data presently avaliable, and each political structure might have achieved mutual development while competitively manufacturing ironwork armors and using them as funerary objects.
Apart from the structural differences, Armors differ in aspects of burial. Previous studies have been dominated by the view that plate armours found in Pusan and Kim-hae regions are similar in amount, buried location and whether there have been other types of armors buried together. Nevertheless, in consequence of confirming relevant facts and re-verifying new materials, funerary armors have disappeared earlier but still similar with Pusan in buried style and buried location. Moreover, apart from other area, in Kim-hae, A-type coat of mail were buried with Plate armour.
On the other hand, previously it has been indicated that technique, which had been used in manufacturing coat of mail and ironhelmet, had changed in many ways like in the case of Plate armour, and Kyong-ju and Pusan were technically highly correlated. Therefore the background of these phenomenon becomes questionable.
Hereupon, I have examined the site at Bokcheon-dong which located near Nak-dong river that separates Silla and Gaya into the east and the west. the site at Bokcheon-dong has been controversial in political characteristics because artifacts from both countries has been found. As a result, I concluded that it is reasonable to regard the site at Bokcheon-dong as a consequence of technical support between these regions due to some political purpose rather than of simple technical interactions.
Aside, from the view that accomodations of armor manufacturing techniques are related to the political backgrounds at the moments, I examined which form of military campaign is most relevant. After advent of armors in Young-nam area during the era of the three kingdoms, each state had accommodated heavy cavalries. Positive evidence about heavy cavalries of this era is the existence of horse-helmet which has been excavated from graves of Silla and Gaya. In both countries, horse-helmet appeared practically the same time. Nevertheless, in consequence of comparing early horse-helmet, technical changes in Kim-hae had been less distinctive than those in Kyong-ju, and trends of the changes in the forms of military campaigns had been mostly same but changes in the armor manufacturing techniques had not.
Thus, Kyong-ju, Pusan, Kim-hae had differences in forms of Plate armour, and these had been distinguished from the rest of the contemporary armors in accommodation of shapes, manufacturing techniques, and aspects of funerary objects. Among these, the reason why armors from different regions share common form could be considered to be technical interchange and political side might be considered to be its background.